Abstract
3/2016
vol. 11
Review paper
Speech disturbances in Alzheimer’s disease
Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia 2016; 11, 3: 93–98
Online publish date: 2016/12/20
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia affecting older people. It is estimated that the illness constitutes about 60-70% of all dementing disorders. It is considered to be a degeneration of the nervous system whose causes and mechanism are still unclear. The disease affects 5-10% of people above the age of 60 and nearly 50% of those above 85.
Despite its defined clinical and neuropathological criteria, the aetiology and pathogenesis of the disease remain unclear. In terms of mechanisms that cause the disease to develop, a significant role is played by pathological processes triggered by genetic and environmental factors. The factors which contribute to AD development include old age, female gender, poor education, diabetes, and having a relative who has been diagnosed with the disease. Also, the patients show impaired communicative competence, the occurrence of logomania or reticence, perseveration, vocal paraphrases and finally a decline in reading and writing competence. It should be emphasised that no matter how long the process occurs, it results in a gradual loss of productive and receptive skills.
The present article describes the disturbances of language communication and articulatory problems, which are progressive and co-exist with disorders of other higher mental functions.
Despite its defined clinical and neuropathological criteria, the aetiology and pathogenesis of the disease remain unclear. In terms of mechanisms that cause the disease to develop, a significant role is played by pathological processes triggered by genetic and environmental factors. The factors which contribute to AD development include old age, female gender, poor education, diabetes, and having a relative who has been diagnosed with the disease. Also, the patients show impaired communicative competence, the occurrence of logomania or reticence, perseveration, vocal paraphrases and finally a decline in reading and writing competence. It should be emphasised that no matter how long the process occurs, it results in a gradual loss of productive and receptive skills.
The present article describes the disturbances of language communication and articulatory problems, which are progressive and co-exist with disorders of other higher mental functions.
Keywords
communication, Alzheimer disease, speech disorders
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